Toughest season of Vivo PKL to commence on July 20th

Kabaddi fans in the country are in for a thrilling experience as VIVO Pro Kabaddi League 7 is about to commence on July 20th with a completely new format. Return to the original PKL calendar of July-October, an early start time of 7.30 PM and the double round-robin with a clear focus on achieving an equitable league table makes season 7 of the league even more exciting.

This format will have all teams play equal number of matches at mid-season as the rivalries will get fiercer and winning every game will become even more significant.

Home teams will now play four games at their home city providing enough rest time for the teams to recuperate and strategize for the upcoming legs. Players and Coaches associated with the League shared their thoughts about the change in format introduced this season, and the benefits it gives each team to make the league go par excellence in entertaining its viewers from start to end.

#IsseToughKuchNahi - Pro Kabaddi League Season 7 will showcase the toughness that the sport brings forth along with the agility, raw power and strategic thinking of players, that are key for the players.

Ram Mehar Singh, Coach, Patna Pirates, “The tournament format of Season 7 is well thought out and drafted. Now there will be two matches less in the home leg and teams will play on four days. This is a great move as this will allow players to get proper rest and recover from minor injuries. The best part being, most of the teams would have played equal number of matches by the time we reach mid-season. Furthermore, I feel this format will build suspense and excitement among the fans and audience, which in a way will be great for the league.”

Manpreet Singh, Coach, Gujarat Fortunegiants, “Season 7 of VIVO PKL will be more interesting and engaging as instead of playing against each other within the same group now we will be playing 2 matches with each of the 11 teams. In the earlier format, our aim was to succeed within our group so that we reach the semi-finals. Now all the 12 teams must compete against each other- our main strategy would be to win against all the 12 teams, which will increase the competition. Earlier, a home league schedule used to have 6 matches due to which it used to change the point table drastically. Any team who loses during their home leg matches would reduce the interest of the kabaddi watchers, especially those who did not perform well would usually fall last on the rank and point table - resulting in lesser interest from the audience in those teams. But this new format will maintain the excitement till the very end.”

Rakesh Kumar, Coach, Haryana Steelers“This format is fine because in the last season a team had to play three times against one team and once against another set of teams, so a few teams thought if they are playing a weak team thrice, then they will be able to attain easy points. For some that worked and for some that didn't. Now, all teams must play every other team twice. So that makes it an equal competition for all. And there's rest between matches as well. Therefore, this format is very good for the tournament.”

‘Iceman’ Ajay Thakur, Tamil Thalaivas, said, “Kabaddi is a tough sport to play, it requires strength, stamina, agility, quick & strategic thinking and this season just got tougher with the new format, let’s see how the teams can live up to the pressures and stay fit through the three-month season.

‘Hi-Flyer’ Pawan Sehrawat, Bengaluru Bulls, said, "We are excited by the efforts of the league to bring us back to the July-October window. All teams are elated by the fact that we will be playing each other twice and will all be ranked in a singular zone. As champions we relish the challenge and are raring to start the defence of our title."

Rahul ‘The Showman’ ChaudhuriTamil Thalaivas, said, Kabaddi continues to grow every season with the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League and the new format makes this season even more competitive and interesting, as we play each team twice. We have two rest days during our home leg which allows the team to focus on strategies for the upcoming legs.”

Siddharth ‘Baahubali’ Desai, Telugu Titans, said, The new format introduced this season will require all players to work harder and make sure they score maximum points as the league gets competitive. Additionally, it helps us focus on fitness and avoid injuries.”

‘Record Breaker’ Pardeep Narwal, Patna Pirates, said, “The competition of the league increases with the new format as we play all the teams twice and won’t take any game for granted.  More games with different opponents help better our skills and build on our game play.”

VIVO Pro Kabaddi League 7 begins on July 20th, 2019 at the Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad. The opening game will be played between Telugu Titans and U Mumba and the second match of the day is between defending Champions, Bengaluru Bulls and three-time champions, Patna Pirates. The LIVE coverage of the new season will begin at 7:00 pm with the pre-show KBD LIVE, whilst matches will begin at 7:30 pm and will broadcast on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar.

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